Transistor performance improving method with metal gate

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure provides a method for making a semiconductor device having metal gate stacks. The method includes forming a high k dielectric material layer on a semiconductor substrate; forming a first metal layer on the high k dielectric material layer; forming a silicon layer on the first metal layer; patterning the silicon layer, the first metal layer and the high k dielectric material layer to form a gate stack; and performing a silicidation process to fully change the silicon layer into a silicide electrode.

PRIORITY DATA

This application claims priority to Provisional Application Ser. No.61/100,592 filed on Sep. 26, 2009, entitled “TRANSISTOR PERFORMANCEIMPROVING METHOD WITH METAL GATE,” the entire disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

When a semiconductor device such as a metal-oxide-semiconductorfield-effect transistors (MOSFETs) is scaled down through varioustechnology nodes, high k dielectric materials and metals are adopted toform a gate stack. Additionally, a strained silicon is used to enhancethe mobility of the transistor channel. In a conventional method, asilicon nitride layer, ion implantation and annealing procedure isimplemented to form the strained substrate. On other side, the workfunction is tuned to improve the device performance. The currentapproach can damage the high k dielectric material layer and thesubstrate, considering that the high k dielectric material layer is verythin. Furthermore, the above method to form the strained substrate isdifficult to achieve a large stress.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood from the followingdetailed description when read with the accompanying figures. It isemphasized that, in accordance with the standard practice in theindustry, various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, thedimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased orreduced for clarity of discussion. Various drawings and associated textare provided in a Power Point file. Particularly,

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method for making a semiconductor devicehaving a metal gate structure constructed according to aspects of thepresent disclosure.

FIGS. 2 through 5 are sectional views of a semiconductor device having ametal gate structure constructed according to aspects of the presentdisclosure in one or more embodiments.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for making a semiconductor devicehaving a metal gate structure constructed according to aspects of thepresent disclosure in another embodiment.

FIGS. 7 through 10 are sectional views of a semiconductor structurehaving a metal gate structure at various fabrication stages constructedaccording to various aspects of the present disclosure in otherembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood that the following disclosure provides manydifferent embodiments, or examples, for implementing different featuresof various embodiments. Specific examples of components and arrangementsare described below to simplify the present disclosure. These are, ofcourse, merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. Inaddition, the present disclosure may repeat reference numerals and/orletters in the various examples. This repetition is for the purpose ofsimplicity and clarity and does not in itself dictate a relationshipbetween the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.Moreover, the formation of a first feature over or on a second featurein the description that follows may include embodiments in which thefirst and second features are formed in direct contact, and may alsoinclude embodiments in which additional features may be formedinterposing the first and second features, such that the first andsecond features may not be in direct contact.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a method 100 for making a semiconductor devicehaving a metal gate structure constructed according to aspects of thepresent disclosure. FIGS. 2 through 5 are sectional views of asemiconductor device 200 having a metal gate structure constructedaccording to aspects of the present disclosure in various embodiments.The semiconductor device 200 and the method 100 of making the same arecollectively described below.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the method 100 begins at step 102 by formingvarious gate material layers on a semiconductor substrate 210. Thesemiconductor substrate 210 includes silicon. The substrate furtherincludes various isolation features, such as shallow trench isolation(STI), and various doped features, such as n type wells and p type wellsformed by various ion implantation or diffusion techniques known in theart. The substrate 210 may additionally include germanium, silicongermanium or other suitable semiconductor material. In otherembodiments, the substrate 210 may additionally include anothersemiconductor material such as diamond, silicon carbide, galliumarsenic, GaAsP, AlInAs, AlGaAs, GaInP, or other proper combinationthereof.

At this step, a high k dielectric material layer 212 is formed on thesubstrate. The high k dielectric material layer 212 is formed by asuitable process such as an atomic layer deposition (ALD). Other methodsto form the high k dielectric material layer include metal organicchemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD),UV-Ozone Oxidation and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). In one embodiment,the high k dielectric material includes HfO2. Alternatively, the high kdielectric material layer includes metal nitrides, metal silicates orother metal oxides.

An interfacial layer (IL) (not shown) may be additionally formed on thesubstrate and is interposed between the semiconductor substrate 210 andthe high k dielectric material layer 212. The interfacial layer includesa thin silicon oxide layer in one example. The thin silicon oxide isformed on the substrate 210 before forming the high k dielectricmaterial layer. The thin silicon oxide layer may be formed by atomiclayer deposition (ALD) or thermal oxidation.

A metal layer 214 is formed on the high k dielectric material layer. Themetal layer 214 is formed by PVD or other suitable process. In oneembodiment, the metal layer includes titanium nitride. In anotherembodiment, the metal gate layer may include tantalum nitride,molybdenum nitride, tungsten nitride, tungsten, tantalum carbide,tantalum carbide nitride, titanium aluminum nitride or a combinationthereof. The metal layer is chosen to have a proper work function. Inone embodiment, the metal layer 214 has a thickness less than about 50angstrom. In another embodiment, the metal layer may have a multi-filmstructure designed to have a proper work function.

A capping layer (not shown) may be disposed on the high k dielectricmaterial layer. The capping layer is interposed between the high kdielectric material layer and the metal layer. In one embodiment, thecapping layer includes lanthanum oxide (LaO). The capping layer mayalternatively includes other suitable material, such as aluminum oxide(Al2O3). The capping layer can be formed by a suitable process, such asPVD or ALD.

A silicon layer 216 is further formed on the metal layer 214. In oneembodiment, the silicon layer includes polysilicon. In anotherembodiment, the silicon layer include amorphous silicon. The siliconlayer may be formed by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. Silane(SiH4) can be employed a chemical gas in the CVD process to form thesilicon layer. In one embodiment, the silicon layer has a thickness lessthan about 700 angstrom. For one example, the silicon layer has athickness of about 600 angstrom.

A hard mask layer 218 may be further formed on the silicon layer 216 forgate patterning. The hard mask layer 218 include one or more dielectricmaterials and is formed by a suitable process, such as CVD. In variousembodiments, the hard mask layer includes silicon oxide, siliconnitride, silicon oxynitride or a combination thereof in a multi-filmstructure.

Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the method 100 proceeds to step 104 bypatterning the various gate material layers to form a gate stack. Apatterned photresist layer is formed on the hard mask layer, definingone or more openings of the photoresist layer. Then the hard mask layeris etched away within the openings of the patterned photoresist layer,resulting in a patterned hard mask layer. The etching process applied tothe hard mask layer can be a wet etching process or a dry etchingprocess. For example, a hydrofluoric (HF) solution may be used to etch asilicon oxide hard mask layer. The patterned photoresist layer is formedby a photolithography process. An exemplary photolithography process mayinclude processing steps of photoresist coating, soft baking, maskaligning, exposing, post-exposure baking, developing photoresist andhard baking. The photolithography exposing process may also beimplemented or replaced by other proper methods such as masklessphotolithography, electron-beam writing, ion-beam writing, and molecularimprint. Alternatively, the hard mask layer may be avoid. In this case,the gate layers are patterned by directly forming a patternedphotoresist layer on the silicon layer and then etching the gate layersusing the patterned photoresist layer as an etching mask.

Then the various gate material layers are etched away within theopenings of the patterned hard mask layer by an etching process. In oneembodiment, the etching process utilizes a dry etching process. In oneexample, the dry etching process implements a fluorine-containing plasmato remove the silicon layer. In another example, the dry etching processwith the fluorine-containing plasma is implemented to remove the siliconlayer, the metal layer and the high k dielectric material layer. Infurtherance of the example, the etch gas includes CF4. Alternatively,the etching process may include multiple etching steps to etch thevarious gate material layers. In an embodiment, the gate stack has agate length less than 50 nm.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the method 100 may proceed to step 106 byforming a dielectric layer 220 on the sidewalls of the gate stack. Thedielectric layer 220 is disposed on the sidewalls of the gate stack suchthat the subsequent formation of source/drain features are offset fromthe gate stack for better device performance. Additionally oralternatively, the dielectric layer is used to seal the high kdielectric material layer and the metal, therefore protecting these gatematerials. The dielectric layer 220 includes silicon oxide, siliconnitride or other suitable dielectric material. The dielectric layer 220can be formed by CVD, PVD or other suitable process.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 4, the method 100 proceeds to step 108 byforming various source and drain features on the substrate 210. In oneembodiment, a light doped drain (LDD) regions are formed by an ionimplantation process using the gate stack as an implanting mask. The LDDregions are substantially aligned with the edges of the gate stack. Ifthe dielectric layer is present, the LDD regions are offset from theedge of the gate stack by the dielectric layer. Additionally, a haloimplantation process may be implemented to eliminate the short channeleffect.

Then a spacer 222 is formed on the sidewalls of the gate stack (or thesidewalls of the dielectric layer if present) by a technique known inthe art. For example, the spacer includes silicon nitride and is formedby a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and then a dry etching process. Thespacer 222 may have a multiple-layer structure.

Then a source and a drain are formed in the substrate by another ionimplantation process. Thus formed source and drain are further offsetfrom the gate stack by the spacer 222. The LDD regions and thesource/drains are collectively labeled as 224 in FIG. 4. An annealingprocess is applied thereafter to the substrate to activate thesource/drain features 224. The annealing process can be implemented by asuitable method, such as rapid thermal annealing or laser annealing.

The hard mask 218 is removed from the gate stack by an etching process.For example, if the hard mask is made of silicon nitride, a hotphosphoric acid (H3PO4) solution is used as an etchant to selectivelyremove the hard mask layer. The removal of the hard mask can beimplemented after the ion implantation to form the source and drain inone embodiment. In another embodiment, the hard mask layer is removedafter the formation of the spacer 222 and before the second ionimplantation used to form the source and drain.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, the method 100 proceeds to step 110 byforming a fully silicide layer 228 on the gate stack. A self-alignedsilicide technique is used to fully change the silicon layer 216 intothe silicide layer 228. As an embodiment of a procedure to form thefully silicide layer, a second metal layer is first deposited on thesubstrate. The second metal layer directly contacts the silicon layerwithin the gate region. Then an annealing process with a propertemperature is applied to the semiconductor device 200 such that thesecond metal layer and the silicon layer react to form silicide. Theannealing process is performed until the silicon layer is fully changedinto the silicide layer. The unreacted metal after the annealing can beremoved from the substrate.

The metal material for silicide includes titanium, nickel, cobalt,platinum, palladium tungsten, tantalum or erbium in various embodiment.The formed silicide may can be in any proper composition and phase,determined by various parameters including the annealing temperature andthe thickness of the second metal layer. In one embodiment, the silicidelayer 228 has a graded structure such that the silicidecomposition/phase may change vertically. In another embodiment, thesilicide layer 228 has a phase/composition, such as MSi, MSi2, M2Si,M2Si3, M3Si2, or M3Si, in which the “M” represent the second metal.

The annealing temperature for the reaction between the second metallayer and the silicon layer ranges between about 200 C and 500 C. Afterthe formation of the silicide during the first annealing process, asecond annealing at a higher temperature may be applied to thesemiconductor device for transferring the silicide to a certain phasestate to reduce the resistance and/or to tune the work function.

When the silicon layer is changed to the silicide layer, the metal layeris incorporated the silicon layer, and a stress is built in the gatestack. The stress is further pass to the substrate underlying the gatestack to form the strained channel region. The silicide volume expansioneffect is employed to generate and tune the channel stress for deviceperformance. Furthermore, the work function is independently determinedby the metal layer 214. Thus the stress and the work function can beseparately designed and tuned properly. The stress induced damage to thehigh k dielectric material and the substrate associated with theconventional method is also eliminated.

When the silicide is formed on the gate stack, the top portion of thesource and drain are silicided as well, resulting in the source/drainsilicide 226. However, the spacer and the isolation features are notsilicided because of their dielectric characteristics. The silicide isonly formed on the gate stack and the source and drain, and self alignedwith those features. Therefore, the process is referred to as theself-aligned silicide (salicide) technique. Since the silicon substrateis in crystalline state and the silicon layer is in polycrystallinestate or amorphous state, the silicidation rate to the source/drain isdifferent than that to the silicon layer. The silicidation rate to thesilicon layer can be substantially higher than the silicidation rate tothe source/drain. The ratio of the silicidation rates can be determinedand tuned by the first annealing temperature associated with thesilicide formation. Thus, the annealing temperature can be chosen suchthat the silicon layer is fully silicided to the silicide electrode 228and the source/drain silicide 226 has a proper thickness.

The above method is referred to as a gate-first method since thus formedgate will remain in the final device. Then the conventional process flowmay follow to other features of the semiconductor device 200. Forexample, an interconnection structure is formed to properly connectvarious features of the semiconductor device 200. In another example, aninter-level dielectric (ILD) layer is formed on the substrate, then achemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process is applied to the substrate,and then the contacts to the source/drain and the gate are formed in theILD.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method 230 for making a semiconductor devicehaving a metal gate structure constructed according to aspects of thepresent disclosure in another embodiment. The method 230 is applicableto a gate-last process, in which a portion of the gate stack is removedthereafter and rebuilt for proper work function tuned to a nMOStransistor or a pMos transistor. FIGS. 7 through 10 are sectional viewsof a semiconductor device 250 having a metal gate structure constructedaccording to aspects of the present disclosure in various embodiments.The semiconductor device 250 and the method 230 of making the same arecollectively described below. The semiconductor device 250 is similar tothe semiconductor device 200 of FIGS. 2-5. Accordingly, similar featuresare numbered the same for the sake of simplicity and clarity.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the method 230 begins at step 232 by formingvarious gate material layers on a semiconductor substrate 210, similarto the step 102 of the method 100. The semiconductor substrate 210includes silicon. The substrate further includes various isolationfeatures, such as shallow trench isolation (STI), and various dopedfeatures, such as n type wells and p type wells formed by various ionimplantation or diffusion techniques known in the art. The substrate 210may additionally include germanium, silicon germanium or other suitablesemiconductor material.

At this step, a high k dielectric material layer 212 is formed on thesubstrate. The high k dielectric material layer 212 is formed by asuitable process such as an atomic layer deposition (ALD). Other methodsto form the high k dielectric material layer include metal organicchemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), physical vapor deposition (PVD),UV-Ozone Oxidation and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). In one embodiment,the high k dielectric material includes HfO2. Alternatively, the high kdielectric material layer includes metal nitrides, metal silicates orother metal oxides.

An interfacial layer (IL) (not shown) may be additionally formed on thesubstrate and is interposed between the semiconductor substrate 210 andthe high k dielectric material layer 212. The interfacial layer includesa thin silicon oxide layer in one example. The thin silicon oxide isformed on the substrate 210 before forming the high k dielectricmaterial layer. The thin silicon oxide layer may be formed by atomiclayer deposition (ALD) or thermal oxidation.

A metal layer 214 is formed on the high k dielectric material layer. Themetal layer 214 is formed by PVD or other suitable process. In oneembodiment, the metal layer includes titanium nitride. In anotherembodiment, the metal gate layer may include tantalum nitride,molybdenum nitride, tungsten nitride, tungsten, tantalum carbide,tantalum carbide nitride, titanium aluminum nitride or a combinationthereof. The metal layer is chosen to have a proper work function. Inone embodiment, the metal layer 214 has a thickness less than about 50angstrom. In another embodiment, the metal layer may have a multi-filmstructure designed to have a proper work function.

A capping layer (not shown) may be disposed on the high k dielectricmaterial layer. The capping layer is interposed between the high kdielectric material layer and the metal layer. In one embodiment, thecapping layer includes lanthanum oxide (LaO). The capping layer mayalternatively includes other suitable material, such as aluminum oxide(Al2O3). The capping layer can be formed by a suitable process, such asPVD or ALD.

A silicon layer 216 is further formed on the metal layer 214. In oneembodiment, the silicon layer includes polysilicon. In anotherembodiment, the silicon layer include amorphous silicon. The siliconlayer may be formed by a CVD process. Silane (SiH4) can be employed achemical gas in the CVD process to form the silicon layer. In oneembodiment, the silicon layer has a thickness less than about 700angstrom. For one example, the silicon layer has a thickness of about600 angstrom.

A hard mask layer 218 may be further formed on the silicon layer 216 forgate patterning. The hard mask layer 218 include one or more dielectricmaterials and is formed by a suitable process, such as CVD. In variousembodiments, the hard mask layer includes silicon oxide, siliconnitride, silicon oxynitride or a combination thereof in a multi-filmstructure.

Still referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the method 230 proceeds to step 234 bypatterning the various gate material layers to form a gate stack. Apatterned photresist layer is formed on the hard mask layer, definingone or more openings of the photoresist layer. Then the hard mask layeris etched away within the openings of the patterned photoresist layer,resulting in a patterned hard mask layer. The etching process applied tothe hard mask layer can be a wet etching process or a dry etchingprocess. For example, a hydrofluoric solution may be used to etch asilicon oxide hard mask layer. The patterned photoresist layer is formedby a photolithography process. Alternatively, the hard mask layer may beavoid. In this case, the gate layers are patterned by directly forming apatterned photoresist layer on the silicon layer and then etching thegate layers using the patterned photoresist layer as an etching mask.

Then the various gate material layers are etched away within theopenings of the patterned hard mask layer by an etching process. In oneembodiment, the etching process utilizes a dry etching process. In oneexample, the dry etching process implements a fluorine-containing plasmato remove the silicon layer. In another example, the dry etching processwith the fluorine-containing plasma is implemented to remove the siliconlayer, the metal layer and the high k dielectric material layer. Infurtherance of the example, the etch gas includes CF4. Alternatively,the etching process may include multiple etching steps to etch thevarious gate material layers. In one embodiment, the gate stack has agate length less than 50 nm.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 8, the method 230 may proceed to step 236 byforming a dielectric layer 220 on the sidewalls of the gate stack. Thedielectric layer 220 is disposed on the sidewalls of the gate stack suchthat the subsequent formation of source/drain features are offset fromthe gate stack for better device performance. Additionally oralternatively, the dielectric layer is used to seal the high kdielectric material layer and the metal, therefore protecting these gatematerials. The dielectric layer 220 includes silicon oxide, siliconnitride or other suitable dielectric material. The dielectric layer 220can be formed by CVD, PVD or other suitable process.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 9, the method 230 proceeds to step 238 byforming various source and drain features on the substrate 210. In oneembodiment, a LDD regions are formed by an ion implantation processusing the gate stack as an implanting mask. LDD regions aresubstantially aligned with the edges of the gate stack. If thedielectric layer is present, the LDD regions are offset from the edge ofthe gate stack by the dielectric layer. Additionally, a haloimplantation process may be implemented to eliminate the short channeleffect.

Then a spacer 222 is formed on the sidewalls of the gate stack (or thesidewalls of the dielectric layer if present) by a technique known inthe art. For example, the spacer includes silicon nitride and is formedby a CVD and then a dry etching process. The spacer may have amultiple-layer structure.

Then a source and a drain are formed in the substrate by another ionimplantation process. Thus formed source and drain are further offsetfrom the gate stack by the spacer 222. The LDD regions and thesource/drains are collectively labeled as 224 in FIG. 4. An annealingprocess is applied thereafter to the substrate to activate thesource/drain features 224. The annealing process can be implemented by asuitable method, such as rapid thermal annealing or laser annealing.

Silicide features may be formed on the source and drain at this step bya salicide technique, including metal deposition, annealing and etchingto remove the excessive metal unreacted with the silicon substrate.Since the hard mask is on the top of the gate stack, therefore, thesilicide will not formed on the gate stack at this time.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 10, the method 230 may proceed to step 240 byforming an inter-level dielectric (ILD) layer 229 on the substrate usinga suitable process, such as CVD or spin-on glass (SOG). The ILD includesa dielectric material, such as silicon oxide, low k dielectric materialor other suitable dielectric material. For example, the ILD layer isformed by a high density plasma CVD. The ILD layer is disposed on thesubstrate between the multiples gate stacks and on the gate stacks.

Then a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process is applied to thesubstrate to polish until the gate stack is exposed or the hard masklayer is exposed if the hard mask layer is present. In this case, thehard mask layer also function as an etch stop layer. An additional wetetching process is applied to selectively remove the hard mask. Forexample, if the hard mask is made of silicon nitride, a hot phosphoricacid (H3PO4) solution is used as an etchant to selectively remove thehard mask layer. The removal of the hard mask can be implemented afterthe ion implantation to form the source and drain in one embodiment. Inanother embodiment, the hard mask layer is removed after the formationof the spacer 222 and before the second ion implantation used to formthe source and drain. Alternatively, the CMP process may resume toremove the hard mask layer as well. In yet another embodiment, thesilicon layer 216 and metal layer 214 may be removed so that anothermetal layer and silicon layer may be deposited for the metal gateelectrode. The excess silicon layer may be removed by a CMP processuntil the ILD layer is exposed.

Still referring to FIGS. 6 and 10, the method 230 proceeds to step 242by forming a fully silicide layer 228 on the gate stack. Similarly, theself-aligned silicide technique is used to fully change the siliconlayer 216 into the silicide layer 228. As an embodiment of a procedureto form the fully silicide layer, a second metal layer is firstdeposited on the substrate. The second metal layer directly contacts thesilicon layer within the gate trench. Then an annealing process with aproper temperature is applied to the semiconductor device 250 such thatthe second metal layer and the silicon layer react to form silicide. Theannealing process is performed until the silicon layer is fully changedinto the silicide layer. The unreacted metal after the annealing can beremoved from the substrate.

The metal material for silicide includes titanium, nickel, cobalt,platinum, palladium tungsten, tantalum or erbium in various embodiment.The formed silicide may can be in any proper composition and phase,determined by various parameters including the annealing temperature andthe thickness of the second metal layer. In one embodiment, the silicidelayer 228 has a phase/composition, such as MSi, MSi2, M2Si, M2Si3,M3Si2, or M3Si, in which the “M” represent the second metal.

The annealing temperature for the reaction between the second metallayer and the silicon layer ranges between about 200 C and 500 C. Afterthe formation of the silicide during the first annealing process, asecond annealing at a higher temperature may be applied to thesemiconductor device for transferring the silicide to a certain phasestate to reduce the resistance and/or to tune the work function.

In this case, the fully silicide gate electrode and the source/drainsilicide are formed separately. Therefore, the source/drain silicidethickness can be independently controlled. When the silicon layer ischanged to the silicide layer, the metal layer is incorporated thesilicon layer, a stress is built in the gate stack. The stress isfurther pass to the substrate underlying the gate stack to form thestrained channel region. The silicide volume expansion effect isemployed to generate and tune the channel stress for device performance.Furthermore, the work function is independently determined by the metallayer 214. Thus the stress and the work function can be separatelydesigned and tuned properly. The stress induced damage to the high kdielectric material and the substrate associated with the conventionalmethod is also eliminated.

As one example, the fully silicide gate electrode is formed for one typeof MOS gate, such as an n MOS gate while another type of MOS gate, suchas a p MOS gate, is covered by a patterned photoresist layer or apatterned hard mask. Then, the silicon layer 216 and the metal layer 214within the p MOS region is removed from the gate stack, resulting in agate trench, by one or more etching steps. The dielectric layer 220 maybe partially or completely removed as well simultaneously from the gatetrench during the various etching steps implemented to remove the hardmask layer, the silicon layer and the metal layer.

Then a p metal layer is deposited in the p gate trench for the properwork function. An additional conductive material, such as aluminum ortungsten, is formed on the metal layer. A CMP process is then applied toremove the excessive conductive material and planarize the substratesurface for subsequent processing steps.

Although not shown, other processing step may present to form variousdoped regions such as n-wells and p-wells, devices features such asmultilayer interconnection (MLI). In one embodiment, the multilayerinterconnection are further formed. The multilayer interconnectionincludes vertical interconnects, such as conventional vias or contacts,and horizontal interconnects, such as metal lines. The variousinterconnection features may implement various conductive materialsincluding copper, tungsten and silicide. In one example, a damasceneprocess is used to form copper related multilayer interconnectionstructure. In another embodiment, tungsten is used to form tungsten plugin the contact holes.

In another embodiment, the isolation features in the substrate mayinclude shallow trench isolation (STI). The formation of STI may includeetching a trench in a substrate and filling the trench by insulatormaterials such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, or silicon oxynitride.The filled trench may have a multi-layer structure such as a thermaloxide liner layer with silicon nitride filling the trench. In oneembodiment, the STI structure may be created using a process sequencesuch as: growing a pad oxide, forming a low pressure chemical vapordeposition (LPCVD) nitride layer, patterning an STI opening usingphotoresist and masking, etching a trench in the substrate, optionallygrowing a thermal oxide trench liner to improve the trench interface,filling the trench with CVD oxide, using chemical mechanicalplanarization (CMP) to etch back, and using nitride stripping to leavethe STI structure.

In another embodiment, the metal layer for an n-type MOS transistor isdifferent from the metal layers of the p-type MOS with individual tunedwork functions. In another example, the gate spacers may have amultilayer structure and may include silicon oxide, silicon nitride,silicon oxynitride, or other dielectric material. N-type dopantimpurities employed to form the associated doped regions may includephosphorus, arsenic, and/or other materials. P-type dopant impuritiesmay include boron, indium, and/or other materials.

The present disclosure is not limited to applications in which thesemiconductor structure includes a MOS transistor, and may be extendedto other integrated circuit having a metal gate stack. For example, thesemiconductor device may include a dynamic random access memory (DRAM)cell, a single electron transistor (SET), and/or other microelectronicdevices (collectively referred to herein as microelectronic devices). Inanother embodiment, the semiconductor device 200 includes FinFETtransistors. Of course, aspects of the present disclosure are alsoapplicable and/or readily adaptable to other type of transistor,including single-gate transistors, double-gate transistors and othermultiple-gate transistors, and may be employed in many differentapplications, including sensor cells, memory cells, logic cells, andothers.

Although embodiments of the present disclosure have been described indetail, those skilled in the art should understand that they may makevarious changes, substitutions and alterations herein without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. In one embodiment,the semiconductor substrate may include an epitaxial layer. For example,the substrate may have an epitaxial layer overlying a bulksemiconductor. In another embodiment, the substrate includes silicongermanium in the source and drain formed by a selective epitaxial growth(SEG) process for the strain effect. The stress is built in the channelregion by utilizing the disclosed fully silicide gate approach.Furthermore, the substrate may include a semiconductor-on-insulator(SOI) structure such as a buried dielectric layer. Alternatively, thesubstrate may include a buried dielectric layer such as a buried oxide(BOX) layer, such as that formed by a method referred to as separationby implantation of oxygen (SIMOX) technology, wafer bonding, SEG, orother proper method.

Furthermore, the various gate stacks can be formed by a hybrid approachwherein one type of stacks are formed by a gate-first approach and theanother type gate stacks are formed by a gate-last approach. In thiscase, at least one of the gate-first or gate-last approaches adopts thedisclosed method utilizing the fully silicide gate electrode for thestress enhancement. In one example, an n metal is deposited on both a ptransistor region and an n transistor region, then the metal gate stackto the n transistor is formed by a gate-first approach. Then the gatestack to the p transistor is formed by a gate-last process wherein thefully silicide gate is formed by method 230. Additionally, the sourceand drain of the p transistor may also include silicon germaniumsource/drain features formed by a SEG process. Such an integratedprocess can enhance the strained channel of the p transistor for betterdevice performance.

In another embodiment, a p MOS transistor is formed by a gate-lastprocess utilizing the fully silicide gate electrode process for stressenhancement, similar to the method 230. When the fully gate silicidationprocess is implemented to the p MOS transistor, the n MOS transistor iscovered by a patterned photoresist layer. Alternatively, the hard masklayer in the p MOS region is removed and the hard mask in the p MOSregion remains by a lithography process before applying the fullysilicidation process to the p MOS transistor. Thereafter, the gate stackof the n MOS transistor is replaced by a gate-last process, includingremoving at least a portion of the n MOS gate stack, then refilling a nmetal layer to form the n MOS gate stack with work function tunedproperly by the n metal layer. Other combinations of the method 100 andthe method 230 may be implemented to form an n MOS transistor and a pMOS transistor with tuned work functions.

Thus, the present disclosure provides a method for making an integratedcircuit having metal gate stacks. The method includes forming a high kdielectric material layer on a semiconductor substrate; forming a firstmetal layer on the high k dielectric material layer; forming a siliconlayer on the first metal layer; patterning the silicon layer, the firstmetal layer and the high k dielectric material layer to form a gatestack; and performing a silicidation process to fully change the siliconlayer into a silicide electrode.

In this method, the performing the silicidation process may includeforming a second metal layer on the silicon layer; reacting the siliconlayer and the second metal layer to form a silicide layer, by anannealing process to react; and removing unreacted second metal layer.The forming the first metal layer may include forming a titanium nitride(TiN) layer. The forming the first metal layer may include forming amultiple-film structure. The forming the first metal layer may includeforming a capping film on the high k dielectric material layer; andforming a metal film on the capping film. The forming the silicon layermay include forming the silicon layer having a thickness of less thanabout 700 angstrom. The method may further include forming a dielectriclayer on sidewalls of the gate stack after the patterning the siliconlayer, the first metal layer and the high k dielectric material layer;thereafter forming a light doped drain (LDD) features in thesemiconductor substrate; thereafter forming a spacer on sidewalls of thedielectric layer; and thereafter forming a source and a drain. Themethod may further include forming an interfacial layer on thesemiconductor substrate before the forming the high k dielectricmaterial layer.

In another embodiment, the method further includes forming aninter-level dielectric (ILD) material layer on the semiconductorsubstrate; and performing a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) processto the semiconductor substrate. In furtherance of the embodiment, themethod further includes forming a hard mask layer on the silicon layer;and thereafter patterning the hard mask layer before the patterning. Themethod may further include removing the hard mask layer before theperforming the silicidation process.

The present disclosure also provides another embodiment of a method formaking a semiconductor device having metal gate stacks. The methodincludes forming a gate stack on a semiconductor substrate; forming asource and a drain in the semiconductor substrate; forming a firstsilicide layer on the source and the drain; forming an inter-leveldielectric (ILD) material layer on the semiconductor substrate;performing a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process to thesemiconductor substrate; and thereafter forming a second silicide layeron the gate stack.

In this method, the forming the second silicide layer may includedepositing a metal layer on the gate stack; applying an annealing to thesubstrate to react the metal layer and a silicon layer of the gatestack; and removing un-reacted metal layer from the substrate. Themethod may further include removing a portion of another gate stack,resulting in a gate trench; filling the gate trench with a metal layer;and applying a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process to thesubstrate.

The present disclosure also provides a semiconductor device. The deviceincludes a source and a drain in a semiconductor substrate; a gate stackdisposed on the semiconductor substrate and interposed between thesource and the drain. The gate stack further includes a high kdielectric layer disposed on the semiconductor substrate; a metal layerdisposed on the high k dielectric layer; and a silicide gate layerdirectly disposed on the metal layer, the silicide gate layer having afirst thickness. The device also includes silicide features formed onthe source and drain. The silicide features have a second thicknesssubstantially less than the first thickness.

The disclosed device may further include a dielectric layer disposed onsidewalls of the gate stack; and a spacer disposed on the dielectriclayer. The silicide gate layer may include a metal different from ametal in the silicide features in composition. The silicide gate layermay include a metal selected from the group consisting of titanium (Ti),nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), platinum (Pt) and palladium (Pd). The metallayer may include a multi-film structure. The device may further includea second gate stack having a second metal layer disposed on the high kdielectric layer, the second metal layer being different from the metallayer in composition.

The foregoing has outlined features of several embodiments. Thoseskilled in the art should appreciate that they may readily use thepresent disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processesand structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving thesame advantages of the embodiments introduced herein. Those skilled inthe art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do notdepart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and thatthey may make various changes, substitutions and alterations hereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure.

1. A method for making a semiconductor device having metal gate stackscomprising: forming a high k dielectric material layer on asemiconductor substrate; forming a first metal layer on the high kdielectric material layer; forming a silicon layer on the first metallayer; patterning the silicon layer, the first metal layer and the highk dielectric material layer to form a gate stack; forming a second metallayer on the silicon layer; and performing a silicidation process toreact the silicon layer and the second metal layer to fully change thesilicon layer into a silicide electrode.
 2. A method for making asemiconductor device having metal gate stacks comprising: forming a highk dielectric material layer on a semiconductor substrate; forming afirst metal layer on the high k dielectric material layer; forming asilicon layer on the first metal layer; patterning the silicon layer,the first metal layer and the high k dielectric material layer to form agate stack having a gate length less than 50 nm; performing asilicidation process to fully change the silicon layer into a silicideelectrode; forming a second metal layer on the silicon layer; performingan annealing to react the silicon layer and the second metal layer toform a silicide layer; and removing the unreacted second metal layer. 3.The method of claim 2, wherein the forming the first metal layercomprises forming a titanium nitride (TiN) layer.
 4. The method of claim2, wherein the forming the first metal layer comprises forming amultiple-film structure.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the formingthe first metal layer comprises: forming a capping film on the high kdielectric material layer; and forming a metal film on the capping film.6. The method of claim 2, wherein the forming the silicon layercomprises forming the silicon layer having a thickness of less thanabout 700 angstrom.
 7. The method of claim 2, further comprising:forming a dielectric layer on sidewalls of the gate stack after thepatterning the silicon layer, the first metal layer and the high kdielectric material layer; thereafter forming a light doped drain (LDD)features in the semiconductor substrate; thereafter forming a spacer onsidewalls of the dielectric layer; and thereafter forming a source and adrain.
 8. The method of claim 2, further comprising forming aninterfacial layer on the semiconductor substrate before the forming thehigh k dielectric material layer.
 9. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: forming an inter-level dielectric (ILD) material layer onthe semiconductor substrate; and performing a chemical mechanicalpolishing (CMP) process to the semiconductor substrate.
 10. The methodof claim 2, further comprising: forming a hard mask layer on the siliconlayer; and thereafter patterning the hard mask layer before thepatterning to form the gate stack.
 11. The method of claim 10, furthercomprising removing the hard mask layer before the performing thesilicidation process.
 12. A method for manufacturing a semiconductordevice comprising: forming a high k dielectric material layer on asemiconductor substrate; forming a first metal layer on the high kdielectric material layer, the first metal layer being in contact withthe high k dielectric material layer; forming a silicon layer on thefirst metal layer, the silicon layer being in contact with the firstmetal layer; patterning the silicon layer, the first metal layer and thehigh k dielectric material layer to form a gate stack having a gatelength less than 50 nm; performing a silicidation process to change thesilicon layer into a silicide electrode, the silicon layer beingcompletely changed into the silicide layer electrode at the completionof the silicidation process, wherein the grated silicide layer has avaried silicide composition and phase that changes across the gratedsilicide layer forming a dielectric layer on sidewalls of the gate stackafter the patterning the silicon layer, the first metal layer and thehigh k dielectric material layer; thereafter forming a light doped drain(LDD) features in the semiconductor substrate; thereafter forming aspacer on sidewalls of the dielectric layer; and thereafter forming asource and a drain.
 13. The method of claim 12, wherein the forming thefirst metal layer comprises forming a titanium nitride (TiN) layer. 14.The method of claim 12, wherein the forming the first metal layercomprises forming a multiple-film structure.
 15. The method of claim 12,wherein the forming the first metal layer comprises: forming a cappingfilm on the high k dielectric material layer; and forming a metal filmon the capping film.
 16. The method of claim 12, wherein the forming thesilicon layer comprises forming the silicon layer having a thickness ofless than about 700 angstrom.
 17. The method of claim 12, furthercomprising forming an interfacial layer on the semiconductor substratebefore the forming the high k dielectric material layer.
 18. The methodof claim 12, further comprising: forming an inter-level dielectric (ILD)material layer on the semiconductor substrate; and performing a chemicalmechanical polishing (CMP) process to the semiconductor substrate. 19.The method of claim 12, further comprising: forming a hard mask layer onthe silicon layer; and thereafter patterning the hard mask layer beforethe patterning to form the gate stack; and removing the hard mask layerbefore the performing the silicidation process.
 20. The method of claim12, wherein performing the silicidation process to change the siliconlayer into a silicide electrode includes the silicon layer beingcompletely changed into a grated silicide layer at the completion of thesilicidation process, the grated silicide layer having a varied silicidecomposition and phase that changes across the grated silicide layer.